Slight Shift - Chapter 1 : One of the Octet appears
by CB.Rath
Summary: Forces in remnant had succeeded in creating an anomaly, in driving the world down a road it was not meant to. A figure appears to fulfill its purpose. Neither friend nor foe, it is simply here to ensure change. He must work within the walls of Beacon to identify the culprits of this transgression and the students must work to teach this being about humans themselves.
1. Chapter 1

"Yo..You have dark blue eyes", the blonde in the white dress observed as he extended a hand to the figure lying on the ground. "Cobalt…" the figure replied taking it and dusting dirt off his back. It seems he had been lying near what looked like the statue of 2 humans intertwined and wielding weapons.

"So you're Cobalt? got it, look I would love to help you out more but I made a promise to someone and I really need to get back to them….soooo take care!" The boy turned around and rushed towards what appeared to be an auditorium of some sort from whence lights and music seemed to blare.

"No Cobalt isn't…" The figure tried to clarify but seemingly to no one "it's just the color of my eyes…."

Seeing no better alternative, the individual followed the boy he had seen a few moments ago. Upon reaching inside he saw several humans mingling and dancing, the hall had a high ceiling and bright white walls which only contrasted the array of colors in the garments of the individuals present. A wave of repulsion hit the pit of his stomach and he winced at the bright lights and the loud sounds. He spied a secluded figure near the edge of the room heading down the stairs and he quickly made his way over to her in the hopes of avoiding too much attention.

"Hello….Caaan I help you?" The short haired lady asked with a puzzled look. A few people glanced their way but most were busy with their festivities.

"Greetings miss, do you know where I could find a man named Ozpin? Last I saw him he was about my height and always had a cane"

"You mean Professor Ozpin? Wait 'Greetings'? Are you a student from a different school?"

"What is a school? Ah the place where you pass you all knowledge to your offspring..I remember, look I just need to know where Ozpin is"

The music was getting louder still as 4 figures had taken center stage in the brightly lit room and were shining as they moved in perfect sync with the music and each other.

"O..Okay he is over there.." The little girl pointed at the far end of the hall on the other side where a bespectacled man stood alone with his drink musing at the events unfolding on the dance floor.

"I am very grateful, Miss…..?"

"Ruby..and you are?…."

"Ughh….My name is…Cobalt" The man replied before hurrying in hushed steps towards Ozpin.

Cobalt stared intensely at Ozpin, scrutinizing his every aspect to determine if he had reached the right individual or not. Ozpin noticed his gaze and drew his attention away from the rhythmic figures.

"Ozpin correct?" He asked

"Can I be of assistance to you?" Ozpin spoke in his usual tone of calmness.

Yes this is him, Cobalt determined.

"Yes, I need to talk to you. Somewhere less…open, if possible" Cobalt shifted uneasily, the company of so many humans was unsettling to him.

"I must apologize but I am a bit engaged at the moment, I cant leave the dance unsupervised. Furthermore, I don't believe I have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance" Ozpin gave Cobalt a critical look.

"Look, I don't want to stay here any longer than I need to. I know you are the cursed" Cobalt pulled off his bowtie and got more comfortable in the suit he had chosen to appear in. Had he known it would be this suffocating he may have forgone clothing altogether despite his knowledge of human society telling him that would attract too much attention.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow "Are you perhaps one of the 8?"

"Thank the old man, this shouldn't take as long now"

Ozpins's eyes widened, a rush of fear blew over him. The 8 themselves were not a threat but their appearance could not be a good omen.

"Wh-what is your dominion" The bespectacled man adjusted his glasses as he regained his composure.

"Reality" Replied the man with deep blue eyes.

"Maybe Qrow is right, far too many complicated and arbitrary rules"

"What?" Cobalt asked

"Nevermind, follow me" Ozpin pulled out his cane and made his way toward the exit.

As Cobalt left the building he turned to see the blonde boy he had met dancing with a figure in red, he felt a strange tingling on his face, his muscles making involuntary movements. Ah, right….that is a smile, he made an internal note before moving.

The two men walked in silence all the way to Ozpin's office, the sound of the music dimmed with every step they took until a complete silence fell over the two. *ding* The elevator opened and Ozpin stepped into the dimly lit room moving to his chair and taking a seat behind his desk. Cobalt chose to remain standing and carefully observed the room decorated with clearly a minimalist approach with only a desk and other administrative essentials.

"So…what brings you to beacon?" Ozpin had apprehension in his voice, almost as if he did not want the answer to his question.

"I don't know yet"

"You…don't know?"

"Yet, not specifically…I have a general idea but you should know that the only thing that would force me to make a physical appearance is the violation of a domain"

"So someone has succeed in creating an anomaly?"

"No, they are about to succeed. They haven't yet. I convinced Dia to let me bend the rules and go back before they got the chance, the last time we excused an offense such as this one the world was shattered along with the moon"

"Oh I remember the tale of your inaction during the birth of Remnant very well and also how hard you tried to make it a footnote. The 8 of you did nothing" Ozpin spoke with a hint of disdain in his otherwise calm voice.

"Do not expect me to be responsible for the incompetence of your species kid" Cobalt responded in a commanding tone, slamming his palm on the desk.

"No, I don't. Although I do expect you to serve your purpose" Ozpin matched the intensity in the other man's eyes and refused to be shaken. it was clear that between the two of them, Ozpin had far more experience handling emotions and a human body. He let out a dull sigh before continuing:

"We have special rooms for students with physical disabilities that are going empty, they are spacious and can accommodate you for a time, I'll let my staff know you will be staying with us"

"Good" Courtesy seems to have escaped Cobalt after their recent altercation.

"I do expect you to lay low and not raise too many questions within the staff or the student body. We will continue our conversation tomorrow with a few more select individuals"

*Ding*

The elevator opened again and two guards rushed outside and taking positions to either side, a shorter bespectacled blonde woman approached as they parted.

"Oz- who is this?" She changed from worried to inquisitive and back to worried in the span of a few seconds. "Nevermind that, we have a problem" She continued.

"Ah you do have good timing, I seem to have a problem of my-"

"Someone infiltrated the school and stole sensitive information by hacking into our terminals"

"Ahem, it seems yours is more immediate" Ozpin rose from his chair and extended his cane.

"Ruby Rose engaged the infiltrator in combat but they escaped as Ironwood arrived on the scene" Goodwitch handed her scroll to Ozpin indicating that she had finished her verbal report. Ozpin scrutinized the scrolls details for an extended period before speaking.

"I…see, could you call the two in here. Tell them it is rather late so they wont be asked for more than a cursory report and that we will save the details for the morning" As Ozpin finished his sentence Goodwitch nodded and left the room but not before giving the blue eyed being a side glance.

Perceptive, precautious and…..problematic. Cobalt made a mental note.

"I will have to ask you to retire for night, you should join us in our meeting tomorrow. Once this mattered is…settled, we can discuss any proceeding issues" Ozpin turned back to Cobalt.

"I feel that this infiltration of yours was one of the things I was told about but I don't think I was paying much attention"

"That does not surprise me"

* * *

Whistles and howling is uncommon when a group of simple students walked by at night but when 3 of the 4 were in beautiful dresses it seemed like a more appropriate reaction. The one obviously attracting the most eyes was the unnaturally muscular blonde man still in a rather short dress.

"Jaune, you could have changed before we left. You didn't need to walk back to our room in that too" Pyrrha's voice was clearly muffled by her attempts to stifle her laugh

"I think it suits him, he has the figure of the ballerina and the mind of a…Jaune" Nora's tone changed from the beginning to the end of her sentence.

"I agree, he cleans up quite well" Ren added.

"Oh haha, Jaune makes a pretty girl, why don't you all become my sisters too" Jaune grumbled.

"They made you dress up too?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh all the ti-I mean on occasion. When I couldn't be annoying enough to escape"

At the time a security detail of 4 was escorting a lone individual towards the way Team JNPR was headed, their dorms. Seeing something interesting to distract herself, Nora seized the chance to leave red and yellow alone.

"Hey Ren! We have a prisoner in our dorms"

"A priso-"Ren was rushed by his arm before he could finish as Nora pulled him along.

This was a common enough occurrence that the other two sun shaded members only chuckled as it happened.

"I wonder what that is" Pyrrha said smiling, she seemed in a jovial mood despite being dejected not too long ago.

"Yeah…Hey Pyrrha..I…I wanted to apologize" Jaune stopped.

"What for Jaune?"

"I should've been paying more attention, I…I didn't mean to make you feel lonely. I…I am just an idiot" He looked to the blades of grass at his feet not meeting the eyes of his partner.

Footsteps approached the boy and two palms held his head repositioning his face so he looked the lady in red straight in her eyes "No you aren't Jaune and you did not make me feel lonely, I told you that you are the reason I have any meaningful connections at all. I….I a so very lucky to have you all in my life"

Jaune pulled back with the slightest of blush on his face, invisible in the dim lights of the passing night.

"Ugh…th..thanks..I..I" Jaune struggled to find the right words to say.

"Hahaha, its okay Jaune"

"No its not, when you told me about yourself on the balcony earlier today…I…realized how difficult it must be for you to simply have what I don't even think about. Once I learned who you are, I did the same thing as everyone else, I thought that our worlds were too far apart. I need to be a better partner to you" Jaune's voice was clearer than before.

"You are a great partner Jaune and we will get better at this…..together"

the redhead smiled and clutched his arm but as they walked away in their immaculate dresses, Jaune could only think that the toast he made with Ruby earlier today had been very appropriate.


	2. Chapter 2

Yang was happy to be back in her pajamas, the dress was elegant and flattering but when it came to comfort it left a lot to be desired. She stretched her arms and sat down on her bed. "So Weiss, what do you say the dance was a great success, right?" The blonde asked.

"Well until the intruder got in, Yeah I'd say it went pretty well" Blake responded instead without taking her eyes off her book.

"Now that wa-, wait shouldn't you be grilling Ruby for details? This could be related to the White Fang" Yang asked.

"I am trying to distract myself, thanks Yang"

*Bang* the sound of a door closing rather loudly caught the attention of all three of the ladies in the room.

"What was that?" Weiss asked but Yang and Blake had already opened the door and were scouring the hallway for the origin of the noise, Nora had joined them too, followed by a groggy Ren.

At the end of the brightly lit hallway two guards were moving in circles before the doors to the rooms for individuals with special needs. They seemed to be moving in odd irregular patterns until they finally moved all the way across the hall and went into the elevator.

Nora and Yang moved with equal curiosity and energy as they approached the door the guards had just left. Ren stopped them "If they had guards posted outside, whatever's in there is dangerous"

"If they left, its clearly sa-" Nora flung the door open as she spoke.

"Who the he-"

*Bam*

Yang's fist threw the figure just shy of 6 feet across the room as it slammed against the table at the far end of the room, blood dripped on his pristine white shirt.

"I welcomed him with a Yang?" The blonde asked.

"You've already used that one" Weiss complained.

"Yang….I think you broke his nose" The cat eared lady noted from behind her friend.

* * *

"It has come to my attention that you all came into an…altercation with a guest of mine" Ozpin nodded his head at the figure with a new and clean black shirt.

There were 8 colors lined up next to one another, some restrained others relaxed but all sleepy. Neither Team JNPR nor Team RWBY were used to waking up before the sun came out, all save for Ren and Pyrrha.

The meeting was back in Ozpins office with Ironwood and Goodwitch present among the students.

Jaune leaned back to whisper to his only male friend in the room "Can you please tell me why we are being lectured at 6 am for something Yang did"

Ren just shrugged.

"Well, I'd hoped that the violent tendencies of your species had diminished but it seems that was hoping for too much" Cobalt spoke finally, his nose had almost healed but there was a cut on his nose close to his eyes.

"Yes, well you see our Yang here is a special case" Ozpin responded.

"Professor..I thought his aura would protect him and we thought he was the intruder" Yang spoke with a hint of desperation in her voice, which surprised some of her friends that she was afraid of getting into trouble.

"I will concede, It was my own shortsightedness to not remember to project my aura outward as a protective shield. Don't worry Ms. Xiao Long, I don't think you shall be persecuted for any of your actions. Though I do hope our interactions are less…..physical in the future, I am not much of a fighter" Cobalt spoke much more softly than he had with any human so far, which tipped off Ozpin.

"So who are you exactly?" The one who was most curious was always the silver eyed youngster.

"He is-" Ozpin began speaking before he was cut off by the subject in question.

"I believe I can answer questions addressed to me Ozpin" Cobalt shot a glare at Ozpin but the bespectacled figure simply glared back.

"There is no reason to involve these students, we can handle whatever it is that is necessary to help you"

"According to Dia, all your students were involved in the anomaly. They are already involved and you did wanted me to raise as few questions as possible correct?"

"Yes, bu-"

"Then give me a cover, If I have contacts in the student body who know why I am here they can help keep prying eyes away"

"No one is watching you inside this school"

"Ozpin, I expect more from a man of your ability"

Tension loomed in the quiet air in the room, figures stayed still their eyes fixed on the two arguing. Besides Ozpin and Cobalt no one had a clue as to what their words were about.

After what seemed to be a staring contest between two uncomfortably aggressive yet intimate lovers, Ozpin sighed before speaking, "Tell them only what is necessary"

Cobalt nodded before continuing "Your question….umm…Ruby Rose was it? Well I am more of a what then a who" He turned to face the 8 as he plopped himself on Ozpin's desk disregarding his disapproving glance and continued "Do you know the story of the 'wayward warrior'?"

"Oh..Oh I know I know" Nora energetically waved her hand in the air and continued without waiting for permission "A man who lost his village to bandits became a warrior who protected his kingdom for decades but then a coup took his kingdom and his family away from him" Nora looked around to see if her dramatization was helping with audience engagement, and it was.

She continued "Having lost faith in humans he wandered village to village stealing or pillaging. Although in the last house he ever visited he found an old lady too sick to move but instead of stealing from her he simply left some bread from his spoils and left that town. The woman touched by his kindness granted him the ability to change the flow of time itself" Nora ended with emphatic slow wave across her face.

This time she received quizzical looks at her finish.

"Well I heard that the warrior was given the power to grant intelligence to any being or object he chose fit" Pyrrha added with reservation.

"No…no mom had told me he got the ability to change the world in his image" Ruby said.

"The man was split into 8 of himself, with each part being granted domain over one facet of this world. He was told that should he live in peace with himself he should be able to live in peace with the world" Ozpin corrected all of them with his usual calm.

"Your headmaster is correct, legends…..scatter. Although this one holds only a modicum of truth. I was never some lone warrior and neither did I have a family to lose" Cobalt spoke with little to no emotion in his voice. It appeared as if this monologue was lodged in his memory. "I am what you can most closely call an immune system of the world, the way your body fights a disease. I am here because someone has tried to change reality of this world"

"…..ughhhhh…Okayyyyyy" Ruby had clearly taken away very little from the explanation, while the others had varying degrees of confusion on their face.

"I am here because someone or something created their own reality and drew the rest of the world into it" Cobalt's tone changed to one of scrutiny "I am not an ally or an enemy, I am here to eliminate the anomaly"

This comment drew the attention of one general James Ironwood.

"If you are what you say, why are you here? Why don't you just change what needs to be changed?" His voice was almost cocky

"I am the guardian, do you let you generals run your country Ozpin?"

"No, we dont" Ozpin responded.

"Exactly" Cobalt gestured to a somewhat annoyed Ironwood.

"But we do give them our military and we do value their insight" Ozpin added diplomatically

"Well, yes I too have certain….abilities but the human form restricts them greatly"

"Then why take it? If you are some sort of god then why not use your omnipotence to solve your- " Ironwood had just hint of hostility in his tone.

"I never claimed to be a god! I am merely another cog in this disheveled machine you all seem so eager to protect. I can affect reality yes but in terms of you understanding, I can only have a limited effect with the projection of my aura"

"Meaning?"

"If I can surround someone with my aura, I can determine their reality"

"You..yo..could kill anyone with a touch?"

"N- no no, oh of course not. My powers are more akin to illusions than anything. For example, do you remember shaking hands with me as you all introduced yourself earlier today" Cobalt asked turning to the students.

"I do, it was awkward and uncomfortable" the heiress responded.

"Well, the feeling is mutual. Although, it allowed me to do this" As Cobalt finished his sentence the room around them seemed to fade away and like a developing polaroid, lush green trees replaced the walls of the sparse room.

"This is…."

"Emerald forest" Ren finished Pyrrha's sentence.

"So you teleported all of us here?" Ironwood warily looked at his surroundings, scanning for grim or any other threats.

"Close but not quite, when I said I can control their reality I was being generous. I merely determine it. Both the office and these woods are real"

*RAAAGRAAH*

A loud screech resounded from within the forest which put everyone one guard and as everyone reached for their weapon-

"What are you doing" Pyrrha pointed Milo towards Cobalt

"Who are you?" Cobalt had locked Jaunes hand behind his back and was pressing a small blade upon his neck which wasn't there before.

"Uhh I..I what?" Jaune was less scared and more shocked.

"Let him go" Ruby aimed Cresent Rose at the pair and readied her shot. All the others ignored the distant cries of the grimm and prepared to fight the man holding their friend hostage.

"The only thing I kept intact in my transformation into a human was my aura. You have almost as much of it as I do, you cannot be human" Cobalt was unconcerned with the rest, he was still talking to Jaune.

"I..I don't know what youre talking about" The boy responded.

"I assure you Cobalt, the boy is human. An extraordinary one but a human nonetheless" Ozpin tried to calm the tension by stepping between the 7 students and the blue and yellow pair.

Cobalt let go. "If that is true then he alone could be capable of creating the anomaly"

"I apologize but in my millennia of visiting this plane, I have only seen a handful as brimming with aura as yourself. And sadly most that I did were not friends" Cobalt tossed the contents of his hands aside and a stone rolled on the ground.

"*Cough**Cough*..Its cool" Jaune responded in a strained voice stumbling back as the rest of his team rushed to his side.

"Students, put your weapons away. Even if Cobalt here isn't our allies we are his. We are on the same side"

"I don't know about that Ozpin. I haven't decided that yet" Cobalt corrected him.

"Well you do see us as your best chance, you would not have appeared here otherwise"

"Maybe your years have filled you with more than hubris"

"Yes, now if you would Cobalt, I do believe my office is much more calming and hospitable"

"Of course"

The area around them faded again and they returned to the much cooler indoor location.

"I….I still don't understand…you're not human. Youre not a god. So what exactly are you?" The pink haired lady spoke as she was the least fazed of the 8 as they returned.

"It will take more than a few minutes to understand my…situation and for now, you don't need to"

"Oooookay" Nora said, still not entirely convinced.

Cobalt then turned a lot more vulnerable. His expression softened and his voice grew less confident "Look, unlike you all my primary purpose isn't survival. I only exist to solve discrepancies such as this. I "

"And we will provide it to you" Ozpin spoke up "Now students the 8 are not really humans, they simply don't even exist unless they are needed, so this man here will have poor social skills to say the least. But if he is here then it is imperative that we remain cautious. Even if I don't entirely trust them their existence itself is a symptom of a problem" Ozpin rose from his chair and walked around his desk in front of the 8 students. The commanding figure of Ozpin somehow made everyone tense up. Even Cobalt got down from the desk and stood straight.

"I urge you to not worry about it too much, I have heard tell of one of them appearing because it rained a day earlier than it was supposed to" Ozpin reassured the students who had taken much more serious expressions.


End file.
